KMBC 9's Micheal Mahoney said the idea of building hydroponic greenhouses in urban centers is starting to pop up in cities across the country.

The 100,000-square-foot greenhouse would grow mostly lettuce, tomatoes and herbs with local consumers in mind. Most produce in stores right now is grown on farms in other states and countries.

"We're only going to be growing foods that is grown in Kansas City, for Kansas City," said Paul Lightfoot of BrightFarms Inc. "So inherently it's going to be thousands of miles fresher."

Hydroponic greenhouses use water and not soil. Plants grown there usually grow faster and larger.

Lightfoot said his group plans to team up with a local grocery store chain for distribution. In St. Louis, a similar operation uses the Schnucks groceries stores.

He said the cost of local hydroponic vegetables will be about the same as most other grocery store produce.

"I'll be curious to see how it works," said Katherin Kelly of the group Cultivate Kansas City. "I hope it will be a good addition to Kansas City."

Organizers said they hope this will jump-start other development at Berkley Riverfront Park. They said the greenhouse will provide 100 construction jobs this year and 25 permanent jobs when it opens in the fall.

Since the operation is in wholesale and not retail, it won't compete with the nearby City Market.

"They're going to grocers. They're not in the retail business. So they won't hurt the places that go in the River Market on the weekends," said Michael Collins of the Kansas City Port Authority.

BrightFarms has several hydroponic greenhouses, many of which are located on the roofs of grocery stores. The project planned for Kansas City would be one of the largest greenhouses the company has built.

The Obama administration will unveil a major climate change plan Monday aimed at a large reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the nation's coal-burning power plants, a senior administration official told CNN.